October/November 2013 - Inspired Woman Magazine

There Has Got To BeA Better WayMy experience with breast cancer screeningby Deb SeminaryFirst of all, I offer my apologies tofamily and friends who had no idea I wasgoing through this. I made the decisionnot to share until there was somethingdefinitive to share. Fortunately therewas nothing to talk about. (Sorry, I justgave away the ending).On July 29th I had my annual mammogram.There was an ‘area ofarchitectural distortion’ seen in theleft breast, so I received a call from mydoctor’s office telling me additionalscreening was needed. I was scheduledfor a spot compression on August6th.I had not heard of a spot compressionand let’s just say the words tell itall. They looked at the specific area ofconcern and compressed it as much aspossible. Again, an ‘area of architecturaldistortion’ was seen in the left breastand an ultrasound was recommended.When I got the call from my doctor’soffice they explained the situation andscheduled the ultrasound for me. Thatprocedure took less than five minutesand ‘failed to reveal a discrete mass inthis area’. However, since somethinghad shown up on the mammogram,further evaluation with a breast MRIwas recommended.Who knew there were so many waysto look at breasts?On August 23rd, I went for the procedure.I have had an MRI before, butI had no idea this one would be somiserable. First of all, when I arrived,the nurse I spoke with said, ‘I see youare here because they found a massin your left breast’. NOT the correctthing to say to someone who has neverheard that before. Later I asked to seemy records and no where did it say‘mass’, just ‘architectural distortion’. Inmy opinion, quite a difference.Of course the breast MRI contraptionhad to be invented by a male.I crawled up on the table onto thisinteresting looking instrument of torture,kind a v-shaped piece of metalor something, where they positionedlots of pillows around me (for comfort)and had me put my arms above myhead while my boobs dangled downfor optimum viewing. For those of youwho have shoulder bursitis, you knowthe pain that happens when your armsare above your head for an extendedperiod of time. I am still in pain.They give you some headphonesand play your favorite radio station butnothing can mask the obnoxious droneand knocking of the MRI machine. I’mnot sure how long I was in there but itwas at least 30 minutes.Results of the MRI: No evidence ofmalignancy in either breast. They alsolooked at the lymph nodes – nothing.However, there was a suspiciousabnormality in the initial mammogramthat had to be addressed. I was scheduledfor a biopsy.I had to meet with a surgeon and Iasked why I needed to go through allof the tests before the biopsy. Theanswer was, surprise, insurance. A personhas to go through all of the tests, inthe order I did, or insurance would notpay for the procedures. The first twocost $1345. I have not received a billfor the rest yet.There has got to be a better way.I had my husband take the afternoonof September 11th off since I needed adriver after the biopsy. When I checkedin they asked if I had a living will andpower of attorney. Really comforting.When I got into the biopsy roomthey started explaining the procedure,but first they had to take some picturesof my left breast to make surethey knew what they were looking for.She took the first set of pictures to theradiologist and came back for more.Apparently nothing was showing up.After the second set of photos wastaken the radiologist came in andexplained there was nothing visibleand they needed to take one morelook. I had the mark from the machineimprinted on my breast until the nextmorning. Again, a machine invented bya male. Probably the one who inventedthe vise.Fortunately there was nothing to see,so nothing to biopsy. The radiologistexplained it was probably the positionof my breast that caused the distortionin the first two screenings. However, Ineed to come back in six months for amammogram to check everything out.I will not pretend to know anythingabout the medical field, but it seems Ishould not have been required to haveall of those procedures. They wasteda lot of my time and a whole lot ofmoney. Yes, I understand they need tobe sure and cover their bases. But afterall these years of study and experimenting,really – there has got to be abetter way.Deb Seminary is theeditor of Inspired Woman.OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013 INSPIRED WOMAN 33